7/24/2011

Working on returned blocks....Part 2 -My Guidelines

Judging from the emails I received this is a topic of interest so I will proceed.  (This is a repeated post from Block Talk)  On the left is  another block in the same Seams Only RR I showed yesterday and it is still just as it returned home... 

Sometimes it is what I (or you) have written in the booklet that is part of the problem...  In this case I specifically asked that seam thread colors match the colors in the block.... and they did just that but they just don't show up... my error.  So I have lots of room to improve on this block.

 And sometimes I've requested something that may be out of participant's comfort zone... I really try to avoid that now.  So do really give some thought to what you ask for....

But in any case I have developed certain guidelines for blocks that come home....

1. First I always wait a bit.. I pin the block up and look at it for some time ...  And occasionally it grows on me or I change an opinion...

2.  My first option is what can I add...?.  I think about this before I think about removing anything and sometimes I can solve problems that way... embellishing and modifying.

3.  Then if I do remove something I try to see if I can use it somewhere else on the same block...  If I can't, I save it (or parts) for use on another block in the future...  So a motif removed from one block may appear on another down the road... I have a bag  of such pieces I keep handy... Reusing them does make me feel better...

Now having said all that there are two exceptions.... I do not like plastic charms or "doodads".  I remove them and they are gone...

The other thing  that I especially dislike are the little machine-made roses sold in craft stores...   Beautiful handmade roses (either with thread or ribbon) are the hallmark of CQ.  Nestle's chocolate (I think) used to have a jingle...."Care enough to send the very best"...  Well when I see those machine-made roses I think "Someone cared so little they send the very worst."  So they are snipped off  and discarded with NO regrets!!!

5 comments:

Cathy said...

First of all, I have to agree with you wholeheartedly on carefully considering what you send out and ask for. I have some sets of blocks that returned home that I will never do anything with. (Does the fans RR, pink and peach ring bells?). I loved the mix of colors, but WTHeck was I thinking? My bad!

Secondly, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! for mentioning those tacky pre-made roses. I rip them off right away, too. I don’t mind one here or there if they are disguised in an otherwise lovely arrangement, but a line of them is awful. Instead of taking them off now, I just avoid round robins with those people who resort to them as regular part of their embellishment process. Is that rude to say? Let me clarify - I KNOW that those who use these are capable of lovely work; I see it all the time. I would just prefer that they put a bit more effort into the work they do for me. (hehe - or maybe they’re just trying to tell me something?!?)
Hugs,
Cathy

Cathy said...

PS - if someone wants a tutorial on how to do lovely hand rolled roses, there are lots of tutorials online - rolled roses, concertina roses, etc. I bet just about any basic CQ or SRE book has them as well.

Hugs,
Cat

Quayceetatter said...

I agree with plastic and thoes roses...

Mosaic Magpie said...

Raising a guilty hand for the use of premade roses. I guess I assumed they would look better than the ones I would make. Guess it is time to start making my own. Thank you for this advice, those of us that are new and wanting to learn the proper way of doing things, do not know what is acceptable and what is not.
Deb

Susan Elliott said...

Oh don't you just love Deb!!! OK. I feel the same way about plastic period. And most machine made embroidery... I tend not to like...I understand it's quicker but it is NOT prettier. So I'll join the snob parade along with you and Cathy...if it's not already passed by...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Popular Posts